Gas and liquid contact apparatus



Nov. 9, 1954 N C, TURNER 2,693,948

GAS AND LIQUID CONTACT APPARATUS Filed Jan. 18, 1950 ATTORNEYS 693,948- GAS LIQUID CONTCT Nelson C. Turner, Houston; Tex., assi'gnor to Hdsolv Engineering-Corporation; Hbuston,-Tex.', arco'rp'oration of Texas rllfhis :invention relates to improvements@ in.I apparatus for.; contacting t gases and; liquid andrefersl more particu.- l'arlv. to f contacting; gasand liquidfab successivelyl reduced pressure.. stages wherein the f energy derived;- fronr. the rre-:- duction offpressurewof the predominant! one of the.;fluids;1: is. utilizedpl to create l flow of theother of, the iiuidsin-v a; direction of increasing pressure.

Incmanyprocesses, it is desirable `tocontactgases with.; liquids-. as, forl example, yin absorption. separatiomof;the.4 heavyhydrocarbons from natural gas, in the ventingrofiarichabsorbent oil'fromfa high pressureabsorber; or the, venting of. crude oil or distillate from-a1high'1- pressure separator in-order to separate the liquid from thefgas; It.is.,desirablein Isuch. operations that thefcontact `between gas-and` liquid beV repeated aty successively; reducedspres-v sresandthat the. non-predominant `on'e ofytheA gas and: liquid; streams be caused.` to owin; a; directionf of. inf creasing pressure The .general-object off this' invention-V isto provide apparatus for:y accomplishing; this* wherein.. the; energy derived fron-isa; decrease in-pressureaofthef predominantk one of` the streams-is-l utilized to\create.r flowI offthe. otherstreamy in the direction of increasingl pressure.

Asused inthespeciii'cation; and claims, the; terms: upstreamf and ,downstream are- `with .reference to, the: direction,ofilow of the'predominant fluid.'` Thus, for` example,-.when the non-predominantiiuidsisV said to flow:l upstreamf it is meant-that.v it ows upstreamfwith ree. spect to. the predominant uid.

Another objectof the invention: is to. provide appaf ratus for. contacting; gas and liquid at i successivepressure* reduction stages in creaseJin: pressure of-one stream 1s=uti1zed= to vcreatefiioxv in 4 the lother, stream in fag directionof,` increasing- :pressure wherein the apparatus involved= isf simple,. economical?- andawithoutmoving.A parts.-

A-further- Objectis-to providerapparatus:y for contact-A ingtygasesz and liquids wherein: the contact. takesplacelatsuccessive pressure reduction stagesi andv the:- liuids':arey separated. iin 'eachl stage and the 4nonrpredominant onellof the` separatedffiuids is caused-toow: in an upstream direction by utilizingthe` energy derived from 'the'pressur-,e,-r eductionof f the ,other stream;A

Still another-object istol provider-af. gas andliquidf contact.v apparatus whereinA the energy: derived' from abA reduction-t of pressure .ofV the'` predominant one` of'theifluids is utilized. to separate: the gas and'liquid-1ini alvplufrali-tyof stages.

A-. still. furtherL object` is to f provide:y af gasxandlliquid.- contactapparatus wherein` thevv energylderivedfrorrrl'. ad reduction. of` pressure of; the: predominant one'ofi the'v uidsis utilized tonseparatez. the: gas and liquid iwal/pluFh rality of stages and to causerthextnou-predominan@onef of the iiuids to ow in a direction of increasing pressure.

Yet another obiecty is to provide. av gas and liquid contact apparatusiincludingan elongate-conduitmeans having alternate enlarged and. constricted iiow portions wherein the ow characteristics of the passage is utilized to providey for intimate contact between the fluidsat'` successive pressure reduction stages` andl the non-pre. dominantv one of'th'e fluids is caused to' flow infa- :direction of increasing pressure.

Yetfa'further Objectis to' provide a' gas and liquidr cont-act apparatus whereinlargeV volumeslof fluids may beflintimately contacted atsuccessive pressure reduction.. stages-at ra high hourlycapacityper unit Weight of app`a`-\ ratuszlY which the energy derived from afdef ICC 2? (Qt-herl and fl-rther objects of the invention :willi f1om.itsl description'.- in the accompanying?drawingggwhichfformsra partof@ theinstant specication. andfis torbef reads in conjunction-1 appear therewith:

This invention, ingeneral, l. comprises'l an` apparatus for-` contacting liquids and. gases wheref-therpredominantf-one. of the. -iuids-is c-ausedqto..iiowvthroughA an elongate conduit meanshaving alternate enlarged andA constrictedflow sections.. The'iluidsarej caused-fto.- separatein; the enlarged sections due; to l gravity .and y-theone of.- thel-uidsof least quantity, atten sepa-ration; mythen-caused f to-ow into a-y constricted portionf o-,thetconduittmeans upstreamfofthe enlarged section. The ratio o-fc-rossrsee-tionalfareas ofi-,the constrictionsl and enlargementsV isf such that? the pressure; ofj the'y uid flowing` through:-l each: constriction is. maintained lesse thanf the@ pressure-of therfluids I withinenlarged sections downstream therefrom.

vThe secondary; or-I non-predominant-v fluid may be introduced into the conduit fmeans -along :with-the:v predomi` nant fluid, aswhere a.' dissolved normally. gaseous constituents-lis-to-be: vented,- oritfmay be in-troducedinto thefconduit means-at any? Theifigure-1 is.- a flowl diagramkv illustrating, apparatus point upstream from-the1 lasttdownstreamf enlarged; section@ and may be withdrawn from4 the;4 conduit means,-` afterl scrubbing,-

inlet;A The introduction lOrthez-liquid:` ataan'l intermediate point in the conduit means.makeswitpossiblettofeliminateg the; mist` from the` flowingagasul before E its 3 discharge from thegapparatus andrthe/litnridrecovered:4 fromthe mist" then rworks its way upstreamt'o they liquid, outlet;

Ittisbelieved that thev invention' can bei; moref readilyv understood; by; referringtjtother iigurewhich? illustrates-= the invention in its simplest form. Thefa-pparatusinf clu'des` f a ,towerf system;v .whichffmayrbecmade up of two vertically arranged towersfloi and" 111.1 A .1:lu1nli-ty'fl off partitions l2f-tdivides-'the systemvinto afplurality offcome' partments,v The.compartments10a;l 10b; lovend 19d 'of tower 10are,verticallyfarranged and'th'e samer is tiuerof compartmentsal1.a-,y 11b; 11e andlldinfthe otherA tower. This particular installation is especially adapted? for* contacting a 'highfipr'essure oil? withfa-relatively-flovw pres# suregasr For eXar-nple-,iitmay bre.Iusedwin-`ventingf1richtv oil-fromfa high lpressure absorber: wherein 1 it'fis desirable.I to contact:fa=1o'w\pressure` gas;.frornva \1ow pressure stage of;` the same. installation; fors' from Ya` reabsorber.A compartment-'3.1021 and-the1oil.:1earfes` the systemthrou'gh outlet 14 communicating with compartment lid. The gasleaves the system through line 15- wit-lr` compartment 11a and enters the.` line 16.

In this installation, one of the fluids and Various compartments of towers 1 0 and.,11 and connections between alternate ones o f these. compartments; These connections include a plurality o f I conduitsAv 147, each` connected at'their upstream end. with the lowerfor liquid i` accumulation portionI of one: of th'e" compare ments offthe two'towers:`

Thfeir* downstream endl may communicate with"y any' portionf oif the, dc'awnstrean`1'u one'A of vthe compartments. Each* offV th'el conduits' 17 has constriclzted`l portions 17a arid-'large' crossisectional fp'ortions adjacent the compartments;L The compartments themselvesprovid'e" gravitysettlers' fori separating gasesA and' liquids.

It will be understood thatA system-n throughf` the oil'willlbe the' predominant? enlarged and constricted flow sections.; The. ,compartilargedsections and` provide 'gravity` settlers fora sertie-ratel h igh pressure;- liquid: containing l at one-r on thelenlargedf sections adjacent thcfupstream endv of the. condu-itrmeans.; Whereithetpree theA conduit mea'nsf at an= otherl in terinediate,y point 'v but upstream\ ironia the liquid;

instance;y thebresidue gasv Thef=o11 inlets lf3: communicates with?I communicating-t' the conduit means inchidesthei there' has` been provided an', elongate conduit' means i includingalternately arranged.:

ing the gas from the liquid within the compartment. The ratio of the cross-sectional areas of constrictions 17a to that of the enlarged sections of the conduit means is such that the pressure of the fluid flowing through the constrictions is decreased to such extent as to be below the pressure of one of the downstream compartments in addition to that to which the particular conduit 17 discharges into. Preferably, the arrangement is such that the pressure within any constriction 17a, except the last downstream one, is less than the pressure within the second downstream compartment. Means is provided to place the constrictions 17a in communication with such downstream compartments. This means may be a plurality of conduits 18. 4The conduits 18 all communicate with that part of the compartment wherein the nonpredominant one of the fluids accumulates. In this embodiment, the pipes 18 connect the upper portions of the compartments with the proper upstream constrictions in order to pass the gas from the compartment into the upstream constriction.

Where gas is to be introduced into the tower system other than that dissolved in the liquid, the gas inlet 16 may be employed communicating with the last downstream constriction 17a.

It is believed that the operation of this apparatus is apparent from the foregoing description. A predetermined pressure drop is maintained between the liquid inlet 13 and the liquid outlet 14. This drop in pressure is proportioned between the various compartments along the conduit means. The compartments chief function is to provide gas liquid separators. Liquid from the bottom of each compartment flows from that compartment to the next downstream compartment and the gas from the compartments is conducted by the pipes 18 to the upstream constrictions 17a in the appropriate conduit 17. Thus, while the pressure is successively reduced on the liquid stream, the system serves as a pump and delivers the gas from outlet 15 at a higher pressure than is the gas at the inlet 16. At each stage of the injection of gas into the uid flow at a constriction 17a, the gas and liquid are intimately contacted and then are separated in the accumulator compartments.

The scrubbing of the desired constituents from the gas is very effective due to the contact of the gas with the liquid at successively higher pressures. On the other hand, the liquid is completely vented due to the successive reduction of pressure in the separator sections of the conduit means.

An example of an operation using this equipment will be helpful in understanding its operation. A rich oil from an absorber, at a pressure of one thousand pounds, is injected into the tower system through conduit 13. This oil may be from a high pressure absorber, and it is desired to vent the oil at successively reduced pressure stages to eliminate dissolved methane and to scrub released gas, by contact with the liquid itself at successively higher pressures. Another gas to be treated in the system is introduced through pipe 16 at a pressure of 350 pounds. The cross-sectional size of constrictions 17a of the conduit 17 are selected to maintain the pressures within compartments of towers 10 and 11, at the rate of charge of oil into the system, as follows:

P. s. i. Compartment 10a 1,000 Compartment 10b 850 Compartment 10c 750 Compartment 10d 650 Compartment 11a 950 Compartment 11b 800 Compartment llc 700 Compartment 11d 600 It will be seen that this system not only provides the advantage of an efcient and economical contact apparatus, but that it also delivers the outlet gas at 950 p. s. i. where it was introduced into the system at 350 p. s. i. Thus, low pressure gas such as residue gas from a low pressure absorber can be scrubbed of any entrained desirable constituents and delivered at a sufficient pressure to be introduced into a gas transit system without further compression.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure and process.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombnations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limting sense.

The invention having been described, what is claimed 1s:

1. Gas and liquid contact apparatus comprising two vertical towers, a liquid inlet adjacent the top of one tower, a liquid outlet adjacent the lower end of the other tower, a gas outlet adjacent the top of the other tower, partitions dividing the towers into a plurality of superposed compartments, conduit means for conducting liquid from the liquid inlet compartment to the liquid outlet compartment of the other tower and alternately including the compartments of the two towers, said means adapted to conduct the liquid accumulated in the included compartmeuts to the next downstream compartment, except for the liquid outlet compartment, a iiow restriction in the conduit means between each set of compartments adapted to reduce the pressure therein to less than the pressure in the second compartment downstream therefrom, and means providing communication between the upper portion of all but the liquid inlet and gas outlet compartments with the constriction of the conduit means discharging into the next upstream compartment.

2. Gas and liquid contact apparatus comprising a plurality of vertical towers, at least one compartment in each tower, a liquid inlet adjacent the top of one compartment, a liquid outlet adjacent the lower end of another compartment, a gas outlet adjacent the top of still another compartment, conduit means for conducting liquid from the liquid inlet compartment to the liquid outlet compartment and through the remaining compartments, said means being adapted to pass liquid accumulated in each of the compartments except the liquid outlet compartment to the compartment next downstream therefrom, a tlow restriction in the conduit means between compartments adapted to reduce the pressure therein to less than the pressure of the compartment second downstream therefrom, and means providing communication between the upper portion of all but the liquid inlet and gas outlet compartments with the constriction of the conduit means passing into the next upstream compartment.

3. Gas and liquid contact apparatus comprising two vertical towers, a liquid inlet adjacent the top of one tower, a liquid outlet adjacent the lower end of the other tower, a gas outlet adjacent the top of the other tower, partitions dividing the towers into a plurality of superposed compartments, conduit means for conducting liquid from the liquid inlet compartment to the liquid outlet compartment of the other tower and alternately including the compartments of the two towers, said means adapted to conduct the liquid accumulated in the included compartments to the next downstream compartment, except for the liquid outlet compartment, a venturi tube provided with a throat in the conduit means between each set of compartments, and means connect ing the upper portion of all but the liquid inlet and gas outlet compartments to the throat of the conduit means discharging into the compartment next upstream therefrom, said connecting compartments and throats having cross-sectional areas of a predetermined ratio such as to reduce the pressure at said throat to less than the pressure Within said compartment.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,803,956 Bergman May 5, 1931 1,863,192 Doble June 14, 1932 2,020,850 Myhren et al. Nov. 12, 1935 2,180,888 Underwood Nov. 21, 1939 2,230,210 Brecour et al. Jan. 28, 1941 2,299,130 Dill Oct. 20, 1942 2,345,667 Hachmuth Apr. 4, 1944 2,521,215 Haddeland et al. Sept. 5, 1950 

